So I'm standing outside the main theater at the DGA Sunday afternoon waiting to get into the "Ugly Betty" event when I see this handsome blonde guy waiting too. So I strike up a conversation with him and find out that he is Dan Karslake, director of tonight's documentary centerpiece selection at Outfest 2007. So I got something even better than a date (i guess...), I got an interview with Dan.
"I made the movie really to start a conversation that I perceived just isn't happening in the Christian community in particular. It's a given in America that the Bible condemns homosexuality and when you talk to many, many, many biblical scholars around the country and around the world, they just simply don't agree with that. We are so used to seeing media stars and religion on "The Larry King Show" and "The Today Show" and all those shows and they are all from the religious right who have this one interpretation of the bible. I just wanted to make a movie that offered another way to look at it and looked at real families, Christian families who are very conservative in their beliefs, but who had to deal with this and really open the Bible for themselves and not just be told by people from the pulpit what it said but really make up their own mind. When they do that, it's really impossible not to see that the Bible really says nothing about gays and lesbians."
While the Outfest crowd should be quite receptive to the film, Karslake wants the movie to be seen by everyone. "I actually made the film very specifically for middle America. It's sort of for this moveable middle of people who are, for the first time, meeting somebody in their workplace or in their family or at their school who is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender but also still kind of go, 'Oh, but they're condemned." And they just want to hear more information. It's really about giving people the ability and the permission to have some new information."
This is Karslake's first movie but he gained much experience and respect while working as a producer on the PBS show "In the Life." It is through that show that he met Judith Light who he credits with helping him and his producers to seek both advice and financial backing from some of the most prominent gay people in Hollywood including “Will & Grace” creator Max Mutchnick; “Frasier” writer/director/producer David Lee; AMERICAN BEAUTY producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks; and “Six Feet Under” producer Alan Poul.
I plan to see the movie tonight with a crowd expected to include T.R. Knight, Michael Urie and Camryn Manheim.